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President Donald Trump presents the medal of honor to the former sergeant of the army staff. Ronald J. Shurer II for actions in Afghanistan.(Photo: AP)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump praised the medal of honor of a former military nurse Recipient Ronald Shurer II, a source of inspiration on Monday to save lives in Afghanistan, has been a secret service special agent and now fighting cancer.
"He's fighting every day," Trump said at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. "It's a warrior."
In a brief statement after the ceremony, Shurer stated that he was "incredibly honored and humiliated" by the Medal of Honor, and paid tribute to his comrades in combat.
"It's really a team effort," said Shurer.
As a Special Forces Combat Physician about 10 years ago, Shurer braved the gunfire in Afghanistan to save wounded comrades who were held up by Taliban fighters.
In April 2008, in the Skok Valley, Afghanistan, Shurer and his commando team were ambushed by an enemy force of over 200 militants armed with snipers, machine guns and grenades.
A senior medical sergeant, Shurer, sprinted through enemy fire to heal a fallen soldier and dodged more bullets to catch close combat members. He fought for more than an hour to reach the group, killing several insurgents en route, according to his praise for the Silver Star.
Once there, he treated four other seriously wounded soldiers and fired shots to treat others. Shurer managed to evacuate the wounded soldiers along a nearly vertical cliff of 60 feet under fire while protecting them from falling debris, the recommendation says.
"Blood everywhere," Trump says as he describes the scene.
Shurer loaded the wounded soldiers into a helicopter, took command of his team and returned to action. His actions saved the lives of his teammates, said Trump.
"For more than six hours, Ron bravely confronted the enemy," said the president. "Not a single American died in this brutal battle, largely thanks to Ron's heroic actions."
He was honorably discharged in 2009, joined the Secret Service Combat Team and was posted to his Special Operations Division in 2014. He lives in Burke, Virginia, with his wife Miranda and their son Cameron, 10, and Tyler, 7 years old. who attended the White House ceremony.
"We are impressed by your father's courage," Trump told Shurer's children. "I would have liked to be so popular."
While praising Shiller's battle with cancer, Trump also praised Shurer's work as a special agent in the secret service.
"Ron is working here," says Trump, "right next to us."
Shurer had already received a silver star for his actions in Afghanistan.
In 2014, the then Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, ordered a revision of the citations as support since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This review resulted in several medals, including the most recent, Medal of Honor.
Hagel's criticism arose from the concern that the awarding standards for courage had been too stringent at the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In August, Trump awarded this award posthumously to the Air Force Tech Sgt. John Chapman for his heroic fight in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002. Chapman was the first airman to receive the medal of honor since the Vietnam War.
More: Airman John Chapman receives the posthumous medal of honor
More: President Trump will present a medal of honor to Marine, whose heroism in Vietnam has saved lives
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